Girl's cheek snagged by fish hook at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park
Girl injured as boys play with fishing rod
A 10-year-old girl got a painful lesson on Sunday on how the irresponsible use of a fishing rod can hurt others.
She was at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park when three boys playing with a fishing rod snagged her right cheek with its hook.
Her mother, Ms Michelle Tew, 43, a manager, posted an emotional account of the incident on Facebook later that day.
She said she was walking in the park around 7.30pm while her husband, daughter and son, six, rode scooters.
She then noticed three boys about 12 years old swinging a fishing rod behind her daughter.
When the fish hook snagged her daughter's cheek, Ms Tew said she and her husband tried to bite off the nylon string from the rod while shouting at the boys not to pull at the hook as it would tear her skin.
She wrote: "You will never know the terror we feel looking at our child standing there with blood (and) a hook on her face."
You will never know the terror we feel looking at our child standing there with blood (and) a hook on her face.Ms Michelle Tew
Ms Tew said her daughter had an operation at KK Women's and Children's Hospital to remove the hook.
Shin Min Daily News reported yesterday that the girl needed four stitches on her cheek.
Ms Tew told the Chinese daily that the boys had apologised to them, and they would not be making a police report.
Experienced angler Quek Wee Teck, 39, told The New Paper that he had seen children misuse fishing rods by playing with them like swords with their hooks swinging dangerously near their faces.
The principal of My Fishing Frenzy Academy, which holds fishing courses and organises fishing trips, said it was important to educate children on how to handle fishing rods properly.
"If they are going fishing, they have to be aware that the fish hook is a sharp object and can harm others," he said.
NParks and PUB said in a joint statement that line fishing is not allowed at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park except at the Landscape Pond.
They reminded users to follow park regulations and guidelines, and said children should be accompanied by adults during fishing activities.
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